Finding Teachers in Today’s World

There has never been a more significant teacher shortage than the one currently effecting the United States. States like Mississippi have begun hiring teachers as young as twenty. Potentially deterred by previous mass layoffs, fewer people are choosing the profession, and as more dual language programs continue to start a school, the need for teachers increases. Finding those qualified for the job is not the easiest task to accomplish, however, we have a few suggestions on finding qualified teachers for your programs.

1. Register your school on the School Directory so that it is visible to more potential applicants.

Registering your program allows you to indicate how long your program has been around, the model of dual language your school uses, grades served, and type of program. Potential teachers can then select a program that fits the best of their needs and send their resume to your program.

2. Post a Job on the Job Board.

Many are not aware of this free resource that duallanguageschools.org offers. As many job recruitment services charge fees and limit your applicant pool, the job board is a totally free resource that allows teachers to post resumes and schools to post job openings with a detailed explanation of the position and the person you are looking to fill it. As duallanguageschools.org is a community of dual language teachers, parents, and administrators, you are already submitting your role to the correct pool of applicants.

3. Offer Training Services

Teachers may be enticed to join your program if you offer them the proper training to achieve certification to become a dual language teacher. There are many people who are bilingual but not properly certified, by offering training, they are getting what they need to become a dual language teacher. Hiring a consultant for your program can help identify the types of training programs that will benefit your school.

4. Attend Conferences

Attending conferences will allow you to make connections with other programs, meet potential teachers, and interact with teacher certification services. These conferences can allow you to learn from programs on how they successfully found teachers, if they used certification services, and what worked for them. Often, if a teacher not currently hired in a program is attending the conference, they are likely to be a good fit as they are already taking the necessary steps to become a full-time dual language teacher.

5. Use the forum

If you do not have the availability to attend these conferences, or if you did not have the time at the conferences, you can also utilize the forum to ask questions on how other programs successfully found teachers, how they certified potential applicants, and if they were successful using the job board. Connecting with other programs nationally allows dual language to grow and expand.

In the end, as the world becomes more diverse and the need for multilingual people grows, people will then be more inspired to become teachers. However, in the meantime, we hope these tips provide you with some insight on finding the best teachers to educate your future bilingual learners.

Author: Luz María León

Luz María León L. nació en la Ciudad de México, el 27 de diciembre de 1981.Es la menor de cinco hermanos fruto del matrimonio entre el Sr. Arturo León y la Sra. Aurelia Lorenzo. Su infancia transcurrió felizmente hasta la edad de 10 años, desafortunadamente su familia se fracturo al separarse sus padres. Continuo con sus estudios a nivel secundaria hasta finalizarlos. Posteriormente comenzó la preparatoria, sin embargo, ciertos acontecimientos hacen que su vida de un vuelco de 180°. La irreparable pérdida de su madre le cambió el panorama, dándole un giro total a su vida. Fue entonces que decidió venir a radicar a USA a la edad de 21 años. Fue aquí donde contrajo matrimonio con Jaime Martínez en el año 2004 y en el 2005 tuvo la gran dicha de convertirse en madre de su primer hijo llamado James, mientras tanto laboraba en una fábrica de muebles hasta el 2009, cuando debido a la recesión que hubo en el país se hizo recorte de personal y perdió su trabajo, pero eso a su vez le dio la oportunidad de ser voluntaria en la escuela Lincoln Elementary donde su hijo asistía al preescolar, fue ahí donde comenzó su amor...